When John F. Kennedy was president, our country was a much different place than it is today, and that includes “higher education.” Here’s how college worked back in the day: 

• Almost any high school graduate could find a college or university that would accept them. 
• Almost no one (only 7%) went on to college after graduating high school. The students who went on to college tended to be the “smart” kids. 
• College was rigorous. Students didn’t take courses over and over again until they passed—they flunked out. 
• Employers assumed college graduates were reasonably bright. They used a college degree as a filter for “white collar” jobs. 
• Demand exceeded Supply. If you graduated, you were good to go. 
• The Earnings Premium and the Wealth Premium were sky high. 

Back in the Good-Old-Days. it sure seemed like a bachelor’s degree was a surefire ticket to a middle-class life or better. 

Here is how college works today. 

• Almost any high school graduate can find a college or university that will accept them, because only 8% of colleges and universities are selective to any serious degree. 
• Every Tom, Dick, and Harriet is encouraged to go to college without much regard to their academic ability. 
• To accommodate the hordes of high school students matriculating, most colleges have watered down many programs, i.e. a college education isn’t what it used to be. 
• Employers know that many programs have been watered down. They still use a college degree as a filter for “white collar” jobs, but they don’t assume a college grad is all that bright. 
• Supply far exceeds Demand. 
• The Earnings Premium has shrunk considerably because of the high cost of a college education. The Wealth Premium is shrinking even faster because of student loan debt. 
• Today, college is a competition because there are two graduates for every well-paying, professional job. The loser of this contest is going to find themselves underemployed, e.g. making lattes. 

Employers are very skeptical. You have to prove you are intelligent. Your resume is very important, particularly your major and experiential learning pursuits. 

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has recently done a study of the wages of college graduates who only hold a bachelor’s degree. 

There were fourteen majors that had a mid-career (ages 35 to 45) median wage of at least $100,000 a year. Ten of those fourteen majors were STEM, Computer Science or some type of engineering. with Chemical Engineering topping the list at $133,000. The four non-STEM majors that came with the highest mid-career median wages were finance, economics, construction services, and business analytics. 

Many typical graduates with degrees such as Biology, Education, Communications, Theology, Criminal Justice, Hospitality, Psychology, Philosophy, Anthropology, Fine Arts, and History barely made enough money to justify the investment in time and money.